Scars
by Shoujiko-remains
Summary: They both wanted this, but neither would be the one to admit it. PoLiet one-shot


Poland stretched and smiled down at his best friend, who was smiling right back up at him.

"What's up, Poland?" the brunette asked, knowing that smile the other wore.

"Liet, I want to be a strong country one day."

"I think you're fine the way you are." Lithuania replied.

"No. I want to get you back from Russia."

Lithuania blushed, but Poland didn't catch it. He just continued talking, but Lithuania let him. The blonde's voice was allowed to grace Liet's ears whenever it wanted.

"You know, before, you seemed so offhand about it, like Russia's abduction of me was no big deal." he interrupted, surprising both himself and Poland.

"I…" Poland didn't finish his sentence. He just painted on a smile and hugged Lithuania's arm. "You know what's totally fabulous…?"

The one-sided conversation continued, and Lithuania shook his head. It was fine by him if his friend kept secrets, but somewhere in his heart, it hurt.

* * *

Poland glanced up from his sofa to see Lithuania nervously pacing the floor, a slight blush on his face. He wondered what was wrong, but decided it must be stress over recent tensions between the nations.

"What's wrong, Liet? You're looking totally stressed out!"

The other looked startled and glanced around nervously.

"Er, can I use your bath?" the brunette asked, wringing his hands and smiling uncertainly.

"Yeah, whatever." Poland replied, watching as Lithuania walked over to the bathroom door and pulled it open, shutting it quickly behind him. Poland sighed. "What's wrong with Lithuania today?" Before, when they were shopping, he had gone on this rant about how he shouldn't make such a racket and whatnot, but Poland had lost interest when he had seen his old friend, Italy. He had caught the part when Liet had almost said 'I'm worried about you', and that had made him happy, but he pretended not to have noticed. Maybe a joke would put Lithuania in a better mood. "Yeah, I'll play a joke on him!"

He put his hand on the doorknob to the bathroom, turning it slowly and quietly, opening the door and intending to frighten Liet, but instead, he saw a sight that would remain with him forever. His best friend's back was covered in scars, some new, some old, but all of them crisscrossing and painfully red. He realized, as Liet scrubbed his back, that some had even started bleeding afresh. Poland closed the door and prayed that Lithuania hadn't noticed.

There was a side to Liet that even he didn't know.

* * *

It was a sleepover, and Poland thought Liet was having fun, but he couldn't be sure. The taller male had always been hard to read. He wanted to ask about the scars, to know if it was Russia's doing, but he was afraid to ask. He was afraid to know.

Of course, there were things he never wanted to tell Lithuania, so he assumed this was one of the things Liet never wanted to tell him. Otherwise, why would he have been so nervous?

"Po? Poland? Hey, you okay?"

"Wh- what?" Poland looked up to the voice in surprise, his green eyes wide. "Like, yeah?"

"You're being awfully quiet. Is everything alright?"

"I… yeah- no." he decided, pondering his answer even as he said it.

"What's wrong?" Liet looked so anxious suddenly, so worried. He scooted closer to the blonde and frowned. "Poland, tell me."

"You." Poland answered, turning serious for what felt like the first time ever. He needed to get this out. His best friend was hurt, and he couldn't stand by and do nothing.

"What do you mean? Do you… not want to be friends anymore?" the brunette looked pained.

"Like, no, Liet! We'll always totally be best friends! I mean your scars."

There was a long pause, and there was definitely a tension there, but the tense feeling disappeared as soon as Lithuania started to speak. "I'm not going to ask how you know about those. They're battle scars, some from real war, some from… him. Please don't tell anyone about them."

Poland shook his head and hugged the other nation tightly, wishing he never had to let go. He had been to war as well, he knew what it was like to see the scars left and feel the regret and pain still lingering from those battles of the past.

Lithuania blushed, but hugged back, burying his face in Poland's hair. The two stayed like that for a long time before they broke apart, unnerved by the silence.

"W- well, we should, um, probably get to sleep. We both have work to do tomorrow."

"Aw, Liet, you know I'm, like, totally gonna slack off anyway!" Poland whined, sliding under his covers despite his words. The other just smiled and closed his eyes, happy just to be there with the other, listening to him talk as they drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"What do you mean, war?" Poland asked incredulously as his boss relayed the news to him patiently.

"You know what I mean, Feliks. War. Fighting."

"I, like, know what war is!" Poland frowned, tugging at the hem of his skirt. "But why?"

"Our relationship is thin right now, and they're demanding more land that we cannot give them. This is leading to conflict."

"I'm, like, totally not fighting! I don't want to lose any more blood of my people!" he cried, and rushed out of the room, running to Lithuania's place before his boss could stop him.

"Lithuania! Liet, open the door!" Poland knocked, yelling through the wood. Finally, he heard footsteps, and the brunette he had wanted to see answered, his usual furrowed brows deepening when he saw his friend's expression.

"What happened? Come in, but what's the matter?"

"My boss wants me to go to war with a neighboring country!"

"Which one?"

"... I, like, totally forgot."

Lithuania sighed and sat next to Poland. "It'll turn out alright. You've usually turned out victorious when you've gone to war, and I'll help however I can."

"What about the siege of Hradec?"

"That was in 1060."

"The Fights against Golden Horde? We were in that one together, with Prussia too, and we still lost!"

"We-"

"The Crusade of Varna? Every time against the Crimean Khanate? We lost twenty-two major battles when we were a commonwealth!"

"Out of sixty-six!"

"Don't, like, forget the World War Two invasion."

"That was recently, when you were having a rough time with the economy!" Lithuania protested, placing his hand over Poland's. "Come on, Po, stop degrading yourself! You're a strong country, I know you are!"

Poland pouted childishly and stared at Lithuania, staring into the other's green eyes with his own. Why did they have to be so mesmerizing and convincing? He didn't want to fight, so he wouldn't, and nobody could make him!

"But I don't want a war."

"I don't want you to go to war either! I-" he stopped mid-sentence and let it hang in the air, then turned and covered his face with his hand. He had almost said it! Why had he almost blurted that out? Poland looked at him in confusion, but smiled almost instantly again.

"Thanks for offering your help, Liet. I, like, don't know where I'd be without you."

Lithuania blushed and hid his head in his arms. "No problem, Poland. I'll always be there for you."

* * *

Where was he? Where had he gone? Why was he not by his side?

Poland focused on the battle in front of him, a few strands of hair having fallen out of his ponytail and sticking to his sweaty cheeks. His green eyes were narrowed and his hands were noticeably shaking, but he still stood tall, defending his pride and country. Enemies fell from left and right, and he still fought them, wondering wildly where his Liet was.

Lithuania was trying desperately to find his Poland, running through the war grounds, searching for the blonde. Striking down a few enemy soldiers, he finally spotted the other, struggling beneath the bayonet of a silver-haired man. Lithuania cried out and ran to Poland's side, hauling the man off and hitting his head hard enough to knock him out. "Are you alright, Po?" he asked, worry in his wide eyes. Poland opened up his mouth to answer, but coughed up blood and collapsed. Lithuania saw a huge slash on his back and gasped, looking around for a near-by medic.

There were none.

* * *

He knelt by the pure white bedside, his brunette head buried in the bedsheets, his pale hand gripping the other lying limp. He had been able to find a medic after defeating the soldiers surrounding them, but they weren't sure if Poland would make it. Technically, countries couldn't die, but they could still fall into comatose, some states lasting centuries. Lithuania didn't want that to happen to his beautiful Poland.

A twitch of the hand he was holding brought his head up, and he watched intently as the peaceful face twisted in pain.

"Poland…?" he whispered, leaning in. Green eyes opened, and brows furrowed for a second before recognition dawned.

"Hey… Liet…" he managed, and attempted a smile. Lithuania blinked back tears and reached forward to hug the blonde. Said blonde winced, and Lithuania realized his mistake.

"Ah! I'm sorry, you're back! I didn't realize-"

"S'okay, Liet. Now… we match…"

It took Lithuania a minute to understand what he meant. He forced out a laugh. "Our scars…"

Poland actually did smile this time, and reached up to stroke Lithuania's cheek, but pulled his hand back at the last moment, realizing what he was doing. Lithuania unconsciously frowned, wishing that Poland had completed the gesture.

"Liet, like, what's the matter?"

He had caught the frown.

"Huh? Oh! Uh, nothing. Nothing's wrong. I'm so glad you're awake…" he stuttered, letting his voice fade away as he stared into his best friend's mesmerizing green eyes. In that moment, he knew stronger than ever that he wanted to be more than just best friends with the blonde.

Poland sighed and struggled to sit up, looking to Lithuania for help. He leaned over and propped him up, smiling, but not fooling the other.

"Liet, I, like, know something's wrong."

"Nothing's… nothing's wrong, Po!"

"That's a lie." Even if people saw him as just a shallow, girly country, he would show his understanding side. It was there, it was strong, and it wanted to help his Liet. "Come on, tell me. You can tell me anything, you know that."

Lithuania took a deep breath and glanced at the blonde, instantly looking away again. "It might ruin our friendship."

"Nothing could do that, I promise." Poland urged, hair falling into his face as he leaned forward. The brunette blushed, closing his eyes and wishing he could just say it, without being this embarrassed. When had love become something to be embarrassed about?

"I- Poland, I really like you. I like you more than just a friend, and I think it's turned into love. I didn't want to tell you because I was afraid you didn't feel the same."

A moment of courage from the shy nation, and then it left, leaving him hiding his face in his hands and mumbling into the white sheets. Poland couldn't suppress a smile.

"Liet." he poked the other, waiting for him to look up again. "Liet, look at me."

Lithuania lifted his head from the cradle his hands made.

"Can you, like, believe it? It's such a coincidence, but I love you too." he said, a light shining in his eyes that wasn't there before. Lithuania looked surprised.

"You're being serious?"

"Like, duh!" he replied, wrapping his arms around Liet and laughing, kissing him deeply. Lithuania answered with a kiss of his own, and the two became oblivious to their surroundings of white hospital and bloody war survivors for a few sweet moments.

It was the best few moments of both of their lives, and the moments they had both been waiting for this whole time.

**A/N: Hello~! A PoLiet, because I adore the pairing, like, a lot... so I had to write this because my nagging heart made me. Just kidding, it's a birthday present for my sister. I hope you like it! And Emmy, I swear I didn't copy you're GerIta ending! This was done long before that ever happened! (Please forgive me for my crappy writing.) Anyway, ciao!**


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